Helsinki Suomen Yleisradio Network (in Finnish) — 1430 GMT

[Excerpt] …A UN report on Somalia, which so far has been kept secret, has been leaked. The report, written by General Gustav Hägglund, the future commander in chief of the Finnish Defense Forces, and two others, criticizes peace enforcement projects such as Somalia and recommends remaining within the traditional peacekeeping operations. The controversial report was written in February, but it has not been presented to the Security Council.

Johanna Gallant reports from Washington:

[Begin Gallant recording]

According to the 200-page report, the UN and the United States share responsibility with clan leader Mohamed Farah Aideed on the bloody confrontations in Mogadishu last autumn.

The report also criticizes the unclear command structures of the UN troops that took part in the Somalia operation.

The troops from the United States and Italy, in particular, operated too independently and did not let themselves be placed under the command of the UN.

The United States had its own military base with its headquarters in Mogadishu and the Americans were leading the attempt to disarm the supporters of Aideed. This unsuccessful attempt turned into a three-month bloody war in the town.

The report accuses both the United States and the UN of a policy that was too aggressive and led to suffering among countless civilians.

The report recommends compensation to the civilian victims of the conflicts between the UN and the Somalis.

The Commission also recommends that the UN should return to traditional, neutral peacekeeping after the failed peace enforcement attempt.

The United States had had enough of the Somali operation last October when 18 U.S. soldiers died in Somali ambushes in Mogadishu. At the initiative of the Americans, the Security Council set up a commission of three men to investigate the events of last autumn. In addition to Gen. Hägglund, the commission includes a judge from Zambia and a general from Ghana.

The report by the commission was presented to the UN Headquarters on 24 February, but the Security Council has not been allowed to discuss it. The report has been kept secret, and according to newspaper reports, the secretary general has asked the commission to change the report in vain, because the commission has refused to change a word.

There were suspicions that the report was kept secret and publication was delayed because negotiations between the clan leaders were under way at the time the report was concluded and the idea was not to disturb them. Another reason might be that there was an unwillingness to annoy the countries that came in for criticism, such as the United States, just as troops from these countries were asked to perform peacekeeping operations in Bosnia.

Johanna Gallant, Washington.

[End recording]

Gen. Gustav Hägglund has announced that he will comment on the report only when the contents have been made public. Defense Minister Elisabeth Rehn, who has just returned from the UN, also refuses to comment on Hägglund’s report. Rehn says that peace enforcement operations such as in Somalia have normally failed.